Silver Stats (The Election Edition)

A new survey by the American Psychological Association found just over half of us are stressed out because of the election. And social media has something to do with it. 52% of people said they’re “somewhat” or “significantly” stressed over the election. And you’re more likely to be stressed if you’re on social media. Here are four more stats from the survey . . .
1. 54% of people who use social media are stressed about it, compared to 45% of people who don’t use social media.
2. Slightly more Republicans are stressed than Democrats . . . 59% compared to 55%. But that’s inside the margin of error, so essentially it’s a tie.
3. People over the age of 71 are more likely to be stressed out about it than anyone else. 59% of them are stressed, compared to 50% of baby boomers aged 52 to 70 . . . 45% of generation X’ers aged 38 to 51 . . . and 56% of millennials aged 19 to 37.
4. And 38% of people said that political discussions on Facebook and other social media sites stress them out.

We’re in the middle of the most contentious election EVER. And if you live with someone who’s supporting a different candidate, things have probably gotten tense. So here are five tips to survive until November 8th.
1. Remember that what happens in YOUR house is more important than who gets voted into the White House. We’re going to have someone new in office every four or eight years, so it’s not worth throwing away lifelong friendships and relationships.
2. Leave the debates to TV. It’s okay to talk about your beliefs, but don’t make it your goal to change someone’s mind.
3. Don’t take it personally. If someone doesn’t share your opinion, it doesn’t mean they don’t respect you.
4. Have fun with it. If they have a sense of humor, put a Trump or Clinton bumper sticker on their car, and see how long it takes them to notice. Or make a bet, and whoever’s candidate loses has to give the other person a massage.
5. Agree to disagree. At the end of the day, it’s the best thing you can do to keep the peace. The election will be over in 25 days, and then you can go back to just one of you being annoyed.